


One More Letter Before I Let Go

by TheOnlyWife



Category: Henry Stickmin Series (Video Games)
Genre: But Henry is the one who dies, But I like Triple Threat too much to not have them be a family together, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Found Family, I know Henry didn't meet Ellie in Valiant Hero, M/M, Multi, Polyamory, Selectively Mute Henry Stickmin, Sign Language, Team as Family, Things turn out ok in the end, Valiant Hero Ending | VH (Henry Stickmin)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-18
Updated: 2020-12-27
Packaged: 2021-03-11 04:13:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,046
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28148904
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheOnlyWife/pseuds/TheOnlyWife
Summary: Henry shoved Charles into that escape pod to save him.They told him to give up. They told him that no one could survive an explosion that big. But Charles Calvin didn’t give up.
Relationships: Charles Calvin & Ellie Rose & Henry Stickmin, Charles Calvin/Ellie Rose/Henry Stickmin, Charles Calvin/Henry Stickmin
Comments: 24
Kudos: 149





	1. One Final Letter

They told him to give up. They told him that no one could survive an explosion that big. But Charles Calvin didn’t give up. Henry was a clever person, there’s no way that he died just like that.

He shoved Charles into that escape pod to save him. He _must_ have had another way out. There’s no way Henry Stickmin, the greatest, luckiest person alive would die.

But still, there was always something lingering in the back of Charles’ head. It wasn’t about giving up, was it? It was about accepting the truth. Ellie offered her condolences, having already given up just like everyone else.

Everyone else attended the funeral, beautiful and sad. Charles couldn’t go. That would mean admitting that Henry was dead. He _wasn’t_. He couldn’t be. Not when Charles hadn’t gotten to say the one thing he always wanted to.

Months passed and that gave him the chance to think. Days weren’t the same without Henry, but there was one thing that Charles found comfort in.

Every week he would sit down on his bed, using a small book as leverage, and write a letter. The first few drafts were tricky. All he could think of was ‘I miss you’. And all he could do was sit in silence and think. Think about and remember Henry.

Eventually he found a good starting point.

He was going on a mission that morning, just in a few hours. Of course, that meant a new partner, but he knew no one could replace Henry. 

It was a good place to start that didn’t feel like a letter saying ‘I’ve moved on.’ So he wrote as much as he could about what the mission was about and what he planned on doing. Of course, the general would be livid if he found a letter that included top secret information.

But this would stay between Charles and Henry.

He had the greatest plan and, though he almost never got to use them, Charles drew a little scribble of him doing his plan with a thumbs up. He sealed it up with a little star sticker on the outside and held it in his hands.

He wasn’t sure what to do with the letter, not really. So he ended up carrying it around the compound in his pocket, fiddling with the corners when he got nervous.

Eventually he made his way to the main station, where he spotted the perfect place. The inboxes were old things that hardly anyone used anymore, mostly because they were in a hidden area and no one wrote to any of the officers.

Sad as it is, that made it the perfect place for his secret letter. He just waited until the secretary (who wasn’t really a secretary, but more of a lady who had nothing better to do than stand in his way) turned her back and he slipped the letter in the unlocked, tiny metal box labeled 'Henry S.'

A week passed and he couldn’t help but want to talk about something funny that Ellie did on a mission. She’d been assigned his new partner, as of late, probably to try and help him move on. Ellie was always trying to cheer him up, though Charles knew she was just as unhappy without their third member.

“I know you miss him.” she said, while he was flying his helicopter.

He ignored the pitying looks she sent him, though he knew it wasn’t fair to her. “He’s alive. He’s got to be.”

“Even if he is.” Ellie said, touching his shoulder gently and speaking even softer. “Even if he survived the explosion. No one can live for that long in space.”

“Henry’s alive.” Charles grit his teeth, focusing hard on not looking at Ellie. “I know he is.”

Ellie sighed and dropped the topic for the rest of the mission.

Charles felt frustrated that no one would believe him, so he did the only thing that made him feel ok. He wrote Henry a letter. He wrote about how he listened to a song that he knows Henry would like. He found a snack that Henry would enjoy. He learned just a bit more sign language. ‘So find me and we can talk for real.’ was his final line.

He sealed it up with a smiley face sticker that was fruit scented. Henry would like that.

“Charlie, I’ve heard from your partner that you’re unhappy.” General Galeforce pulled him aside when he was walking the grounds to put another letter in Henry’s inbox.

“Ellie’s a fine partner.” Charles softened for just a second. “But it’s supposed to be the three of us.”

Galeforce looked at him for a few moments. “You should have been at the funeral.”

Charles didn’t say anything. He knew where this led. He’d already had this discussion with Ellie many times over.

“Son, I understand that Henry was a good friend of yours.” the general said, gesturing to the letter in his hand. “But this isn’t healthy.”

“General, with all due respect.” Charles said, refusing to look him in the eyes. “I can do what I want in my free time. This is what I’m doing.”

Galeforce paused for a second, eyebrows furrowing. “Carry on, then.” he said. 

Charles began to walk away, but the general, over his shoulder, said “If you ever need someone to talk to...you know where my office is.”

Charles walked in silence to the station and added the letter to the others, forming a small stack in the tiny box. “I know you’re alive.” he whispered, just before closing the door. “Come back soon.”

Weeks passed, with more letters being written. One time it was about a new toy he found. A new mission he went on in another. And one, the most recent one, was just an apology. 

‘I’m sorry I couldn’t save you. I’m sorry that I can’t move on. I miss you. Please come home.’

That one hurt the most to write out of all of them. Some small part of him, the one that believed Henry was alive somewhere, was fading into nothingness. He began to listen to Ellie. 

She was still a good partner. Fun to be around, has a very nice laugh, and puts up with his antics and great plans. She was right about Henry, he began to think. There’s no way someone could live that explosion, nor survive in space for so long.

But that night something peculiar happened. He woke up in a bed that wasn’t his own, in a place that wasn’t familiar, yet felt right. The morning air smelled of slightly burnt eggs and waffles. 

Henry was always a bad cook. 

The hallways he walked down felt unreal, not looking solid. “Henry? What are you doing up so early?”

He turned the corner to the kitchen, seeing that familiar face stirring a pan full of eggs vigorously. 

‘Good morning’ Henry signed, smiling. Charles smiled back. He knew what Henry just said, after weeks of learning.

‘Good morning.’ Charles signed back. Henry turned back to his pan, flipping it so hard that some of the eggs spilled out and onto the floor.

“Here, let me help.” Charles pushed himself next to Henry, holding the handle, fingers brushing up against each others. “You were never a good cook.”

Henry shrugged, but didn’t falter in his smile. Together they cooked a beautiful breakfast that was only slightly burnt. Just as the last waffle was plated, something changed.

The room suddenly felt smaller, like the walls were slowly closing in. “Woah.” Charles held his head at the sickening feeling.

“Oh no.” he heard Henry whisper, very quietly. “It’s breaking.”

“Charles.” he took his hands very gently, squeezing them. “I’m alive. Will find you.”

“Henry what are you talking about?” Charles felt something in his chest heave. “Of course you’re still alive, you’re right here with me.”

Henry shook his head. “Dream.”

“This...is a dream?” Charles shook his head. “No, no it can’t be. You’re here, right? This is all real.”

Henry shook his head again. “Dream.” he said, with more emphasis.

Charles began to cry, holding onto Henry with shaking hands. “Henry I don’t want to wake up if you’re not there.”

Henry squeezed his hands tighter. “Will find you.” Henry wrapped him in a hug. “Promise.”

Charles woke up with cold tears streaming down his face. It took him several moments to remember why he was crying. But when he did he couldn’t _stop_ crying.

Henry was _alive_. This was a sign, Charles knew for certain. In some clever, unbelievable way, Henry was alive and that was the sign.

His next letter, after he thought he’d written his final one, was about the dream. ‘I know you’re out there now, Henry.’ he wrote. ‘I just have to find you.’

Along with the other letters to collect dust it went that morning. He told Ellie about it, hoping she would believe him. 

“Charles.” She sighed. “That was probably your subconscious telling you to move on.”

“By telling me that he’s still alive?” Charles shook his head. “You know how tricky he is. You know how many plans he’s got in that brain of his. Maybe he found some way to communicate with me. Maybe that’s a sign.”

“Or,” she said. “That was a sign to give up.”

Charles paused. “I get it.” he said, feeling himself get angrier. “You don’t believe me.”

“You know this isn’t healthy for you.” Ellie said, sounding very much like the general. “This obsession is only going to hurt you.”

“You don’t think I know that?” Charles nearly shouted. “I know that this isn’t healthy. And I know that I should move on. And I know that you’re probably right and I should be listening to you.”

Ellie said nothing, nodding her head once. 

“But I just...can’t.” Charles sighed, anger pouring out of his body, replaced by an overwhelming tiredness. “I can’t give up just yet.”

Ellie paused. “I know this has been hard on you the most.” she said. “But we all lost Henry. And we all took the time to move on.”

“I know.”

Ellie brought him into a hug. “But if you need more time to grieve, then I’ll wait for you.”

“Thank you.” he whispered, hugging her back.

The next day for certain would be his final letter. Just one more goodbye, he thought. That night, under the deep blue moonlight, would be the last time he opened the inbox of Henry Stickmin. 

‘I never got to say it.’ he wrote as the final line. ‘But I love you. I always have, since the day we met. I had hoped that one day we could be together as something more than bro’s. I know that won’t happen now, but I still love you. I always have and always will. I love you. Goodbye.’

He opened the mailbox to place the last letter in. But all the letters were gone. The faint dust marks of where they sat was disturbed. One remained, a letter Charles didn’t recognize.

White, with no return address or decorations on it. He opened it up in the office, even though he shouldn’t.

It read a series of numbers strung together in plain, black text, along with the number seven.

Coordinates.

Very close by coordinates, Charles knew. He didn’t bother to get permission from the general, yet alone tell anyone why, but he left the very moment he got the actual location out of the letter.

He had a car parked in the compound, something he never used, but it had fuel and was fast. That was all that mattered. He drove for a few hours in complete darkness, hoping that this wasn’t some prank by another officer. In his heart he knew it wasn’t, but the voice of Ellie rang in his head, warning him to be careful.

The shoddy apartment building he came up on was desolate, save for one other car parked in front of the house. Throwing all inhibitions aside he bust into the building, scanning for the apartment door numbered seven.

Once he found it, he held back from knocking. This could have been someone else’s work. Tricking the guy obsessed with finding someone he lost into coming out into the middle of nowhere and knocking on a civillains door seemed like something a new kid would find funny.

Ellie had been telling him that this was unhealthy. And here he was, in the middle of the night and without his phone, about to knock on a random apartment door because he got a letter that said to come here.

He knocked anyway.

It took a few moments of quiet shuffling behind the door for it to slowly crack open. 

‘Hello Charles.’ 

The familiar face was immediately tackled to the ground. Charles was already crying into his chest. He took a deep breath, shaking and sad, but also laughing.

“You’re alive. Henry you’re alive.” Charles said, in between sobs.

Henry Stickmin, alive and well, wrapped him up into a full-body hug, shushing him and rubbing his back. 

“They told me you were dead. They told me to give up.” Charles choked down another sob. “But now you're here. You’re here and you’re _alive_.”

“I promised.” Henry whispered.

Charles had to think for a second before what he said settled in. He gasped. “That dream I had. That was you, wasn’t it?”

Henry nodded, smiling gently and pulling back so he could sign properly. ‘Dimension traveling, remember?’

“You said you could see other worlds.” Charles said, recalling what Henry had told him. “And that’s how you always knew the best plan to go with. Right?”

‘I used it to go into your dreams.’ Henry signed, nodding.

“You can do that?” Charles paused for a second, then laughed. “That’s awesome!”

‘I had to think of something with the Toppats on my back all the time.’

“They’re still coming after you?”

Henry nodded. ‘The ones that took escape pods came for me. I never got the chance to come back.’

Charles felt so much relief pour out of his body. All these months of mourning and hoping that Henry would come back and it all paid off. Something didn’t feel right in his heart though.

“I should have looked for you.” Charles said, breaking into tears again, slowly falling down off his cheek. “I shouldn’t have _stopped_ looking for you.”

‘Ellie told you not to?’

“Her and everyone else.”

‘Good.’ Henry signed with a smile.

“Wait what?” Charles paused in his crying to look at Henry.

‘If anyone had looked for me I could have been found.’ Henry gestured to himself. ‘If everyone thought I was dead then no one would be looking in the first place.’

Charles began to laugh. He just couldn’t help it.

“Oh my god that was your greatest plan? Surviving an explosion and making your way back to Earth only to pretend to be dead for months instead of coming to _me_ so I could protect you?” He hugged Henry tighter. “I love you but that was the dumbest thing you’ve ever done.”

Henry accepted his hug. “I love you too.” he whispered, raspy and low.

Charles found himself smiling. “I missed you so much, Henry.”

“Missed you too.” he whispered back.

Charles eventually pulled back. “But Ellie is gonna kill you when she finds out.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After seeing Valiant Hero I had to find a fic where it was Henry, except he didn't die. I couldn't find one so I made it myself! I've never written for this fandom before, but let me know what you think!


	2. New Normal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Henry is back and a celebration is thrown. But Henry has some troubling thoughts that only Charles can help with.

The second Henry walked into the compound with Charles the next morning, he was tackled to the ground, ruining his clothes instantly with the dust and dirt.

“You _idiot_!” Ellie laughed, smiling wide and crushing Henry in a tight hug. “You’re such an idiot.”

Henry didn’t seem to know how to explain all of this so Charles leaned down to the floor where the two of them were. “You’re never gonna guess what happened.”

Charles didn’t know the whole of what happened either, but he told Ellie all that he knew anyway. 

“And that dream I had? That was him using some crazy dimension travelling power. And then the letters were all gone and I followed the coordinates of another letter to an apartment.” He took a deep breath to combat his rant. “And then Henry was there!”

Ellie stood up slowly, keeping eye contact the whole time. “You…” she said, shaking her head gently. “I can’t believe you would just go into the middle of nowhere without telling me. You could have been hurt!”

“Well…” he said, slowly and with uncertainty. “I wasn’t.”

“Charles.” she said softly. “I didn’t want to lose you too.”

“Oh.” 

Charles didn’t know what to say, not even when Ellie pulled the three of them into an extremely tight hug. Never having been in a group hug before, he wasn’t sure what to do - where to put his hands, whether or not he should say anything, or what to do when the person hugging him just started crying.

“I missed you both.” she said close to his ear, holding in her tears just as well as he did when he saw Henry alive for the first time.

* * *

What followed was a celebration of sorts. Hosted by the general who, upon hearing that Henry was still alive, congratulated Charles. He didn’t know what he expected. Maybe an apology for not believing him and scoffing at his attempts to do anything besides grieve. 

But the general didn’t deserve that, just as much as Ellie didn’t. So Charles kept his mouth shut with a simple ‘thank you captain.’

The night of the celebration wasn’t particularly special, at least not to anyone else. There have been parties of sorts around the compound before. 

New guys wanting an excuse to drink was usually the cause. 

Which, now that Charles thought about it, was exactly what was happening in front of him. There was no speech planned, no ‘welcome back’ banner, nothing to indicate this was about Henry returning.

No one here truly cared that Henry was back, mostly because they never cared that he died in the first place. No one besides him and Ellie, that is.

Charles was in his best suit, of course, because this was important to him. Ellie wouldn’t give away what she was wearing until she showed up. But when she did, well, Charles had to avoid giving her a stuttered compliment on her luscious crimson dress, flowing down to her ankles with a part in the side.

Henry showed up with a loose tuxedo, something that the general forced him to wear no doubt. He looked just as uncomfortable in it as Charles did in his only slightly better fitting suit. 

Ellie seemed to mesh well with the others, talking to a few people here and there. No laughs or smiles were exchanged, Charles knew, because Ellie never shared those things with anyone she didn’t trust.

Charles himself didn’t quite know what to do at a party. Never having been to college, as he joined the military as soon as he could, he’d never been to one.

He’d ended up sticking near the back wall next to the refreshments and food table. Which was more like a temporary place for the wine glasses everyone was drinking out of.

He didn’t know who supplied the wine, nor who kept refilling the table seemingly every time he turned his back, but he’d leave that thought for another time.

Because he saw Henry walk out the door soon after the party had begun.

He could have excused himself, but people were paying about as much attention to him as they were to the other man who just walked out.

The warm summer air greeted Charles just outside the complex’s door. It swung shut loudly behind him, alerting Henry, who was sitting on the steps to the back door’s exit.

“Not a fan of parties?” Charles tried to laugh, but something didn’t sit quite right with the look Henry gave him. “Me neither.”

‘Never been to one. Not very impressive.’ Henry signed, making room on the steps for Charles to sit.

“Yeah, but everyone needs an excuse to drink right?” Charles said as he sat down. “Let em have their fun and everything will be back to normal.”

‘Normal? With us?’ Henry nudged him in the side, smiling. ‘Never.’

“Good point.” He chuckled. “So uhh, what’re you doing out here? Besides hating on parties, that is.”

Henry lifted his hands like he was going to sign something, but stopped short, pausing to look at Charles for a second longer. 

“Something wrong?” Charles asked.

‘Not sure.’ Henry sighed softly. ‘What do I do now?’

“We could go back inside and hang out with Ellie.” Charles laughed, but didn’t really find it funny. “She could use time away from the drunk guys who’re probably talking up a storm.”

‘No.’ Henry shook his head. ‘I’m back, but now what? I can’t go on missions. I can’t steal anything anymore.’

Charles didn’t really know what to say. He hadn’t thought of anything but getting Henry back for so long that it never crossed his mind. 

Henry couldn’t go on missions for a while since he needed to lay low until the Toppats couldn’t come for him. 

He couldn’t go on heists since he was working with the government now.

Really, he couldn’t go _anywhere_. 

“W-We could just…” Charles stuttered out, unsure. “We could just live together.” 

Henry looked at him, tilting his head in confusion. Charles immediately felt like the stupidest person on Earth, but he kept talking, as if that would help.

“You, me, and Ellie.” He elaborated, face flushing at the thought of finishing his sentence. “We could get like- like a dingy little apartment and- and live there. I- I mean it sounds like some sitcom-y thing to do, but we could. We could just lay low for a while...together.”

Henry stared at Charles for several moments, to which he didn't know what to do in response. Settling for nervously rubbing his hands together, Charles stayed silent.

“That would be nice.” Henry said softly, nearly unheard.

“Oh.” Charles huffed out a small laugh, which turned into full blown laughter. “It would be, huh? Well...then let’s do it. Ellie will either be excited or call us idiots again.”

Charles stood up, faced Henry, and held out his hand to help him stand. “Wanna find out which it is?”

* * *

“This is the dumbest thing in the world.” Ellie sighed loudly, throwing herself on their brand new, dark blue couch. “I can’t figure any of this out.”

Henry was concentrating hard on the small pieces of metal and tiny screwdriver in his hands, just as Charles was doing the same. The sheets of instructions, which made zero sense, was placed in between the two of them, switching positions wherever one of them had to look at it again.

“Who even designed Ikea furniture?” Ellie complained from her couch, arm covering her eyes from the sunny, curtainless window. They hadn’t figured out those either.

“Some Swedish guy, probably.” Charles set down his tiny screwdriver carefully, as to not lose it again. “He was all like ‘What can we do to make this as hard as possible?’ and then did it.”

Ellie laughed, sitting back up. “Always the Swedish, isn’t it? I once robbed a Swedish man, you know? Rudest guy I’ve ever met.” She paused for a second. “He was a mob boss and I had a gun to his head, but still.”

“You ever gonna tell us about your other heists?” Charles asked. 

“My lips are sealed.” Ellie made a zipping motion over her mouth. “But if you see a wanted poster that looks like me somewhere in Russia, you’ll know why.”

Henry nudged Charles in the arm before he could talk to Ellie more. “Hmm?” 

Charles leaned towards Henry, looking down at the instructions he was pointing to. It made just as much sense as the last time he looked, but the picture Henry was gesturing to looked pretty accurate to what Henry had been working on for the past half hour.

“Hey that looks pretty good!” Charles looked at the screwed in metal piece on a table leg. Charles then looked back to his side of the table, which was nowhere close to looking done.

Charles sighed loudly. He knew this was going to take a while. Setting up several complicated sets of Ikea furniture, that is. 

They’d chosen a decent apartment, which meant that they each had their own room. Spacious as far as apartments went, but that also meant they had to get furniture to make up the blank space. Closest were built into the walls, thank goodness, but bed frames, dressers, and the like were not.

They, meaning Ellie and Charles, had gone to Ikea together, picking out things they thought Henry would like. When presented with the furniture, Henry gave a thumbs up.

The thing none of them realized was that they had to build it all by hand.

Several frustrated breaks later and they had most of it done. They got tired too early to finish the bed frames, so they settled for sleeping on the beanbags they’d bought while in the store. Charles silently thanked Ellie for the impulsive purchase.

Green for Charles, blue for Henry, and red for Ellie is what they decided on. And Ellie, who had been their saving grace the whole day, was the one to order their dinner as well.

“A sweet and sour chicken.” She said over the phone. “A sesame chicken.” She looked back at Charles, who held up two fingers. “Make that two sesame chickens.” She looked to Henry, who nodded his head. “And extra rice.”

In just half an hour later it arrived, to which Ellie tipped the delivery boy generously for keeping quiet about who they were, since he’d seen the news about Henry. Just a few minutes after that and they were sitting down on their comfy beanbags eating their dinner.

Charles, through a mouth full of food, told them about the mission he was going on in the morning. He wasn’t supposed to technically, but he didn’t have to worry. After all, this was Ellie Rose and Henry Stickmin he was talking to. No one would cross either of them.

After they were all sated they’d all but completely fallen asleep. They’d pushed up their beanbags next to each other so that their shoulders were all touching and talked for a while about anything they found interesting.

Eventually, one-by-one, they drifted off, starting with Henry and ending with Charles. With no bed to sleep in it should have been an uncomfortable rest, but Charles, who smiled at the sleeping faces of Ellie and Henry, would claim otherwise.

In fact, it was the best night he’d had in a long time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wasn't planning on making this more than a one-shot, but everyone was so nice in the comments that I decided to make two more chapters. If you enjoyed feel free to leave a comment!


	3. Seasons Change

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Something was wrong with Charles, he swears. Why else would he fall in love with the two closest people in his life at the same time?

The first time Charles knew something was wrong with him was when the three of them went to an amusement park for the first time. They weren’t supposed to, as Henry was supposed to be laying low, but Ellie had wanted to do something fun.

The four hour long car ride there was so much fun, just like the three of them were back in Charles’s helicopter again. They blasted music, they stopped for snacks too many times, and Charles sung loudly whenever he got excited, just like always.

That was all normal in Charles’s book, just three friends hanging out on a road trip. At least, he thought that it was normal at first.

But he didn’t know why he loved hearing Ellie laugh and sing along to his little tunes, he just did. He didn’t know why Henry nodding his head to the beat of his favorite songs made him so happy that he had to flap his hands wildly until the racing feeling passed, it just did.

And then Ellie took his hand. When they finally got there she led him to a booth of cotton candy, which she apparently loved and thought he would love too.

“Bubblegum or blueberry?” she asked, already having gotten out the money to pay for the three of them.

Henry pointed to the bubblegum picture and smiled. Ellie, having already ordered blueberry, looked back at Charles expectantly.

“B-Bubblegum.” Charles didn’t know why he stuttered when Ellie smiled at him so sweetly.

He didn’t know why, when their snacks were handed to them and Ellie took his hand again, he blushed and felt the urge to cover his face with his pink treat.

Sitting on a park bench, Ellie told them about her favorite heist with Henry, still holding his hand. Charles could barely think about anything other than ‘She’s so cute oh my god she’s so amazing and cool’ along with several internal freak-outs at everything she did.

And then Henry leaned into Charles' side. He blushed even harder and froze in place when Henry took his hand and smiled.

It was then that Charles realized that he was in love with both of them.

He refused to admit it out loud, but he was falling in love with them so hard that it was embarrassing. 

When the three of them went grocery shopping together and Henry insisted on lying in the cart while Ellie and him filled the cart with boxes of cereal and candy until he was covered, he couldn’t stop smiling for the rest of the day.

When Henry signed aggressively at the screen whenever he got angry at a T.V character, Charles couldn’t help but laugh.

When Ellie covered him in a blanket and made him soup when he got sick, he wanted so badly to say ‘I love you’.

When Ellie showed him puppy and kitten pictures because she knew he had always wanted a dog and she always was a cat person, his first instinct was to drive them to a pet shelter right then and there, just to make her happy.

But when Henry smiled at one of Ellie’s jokes, Charles felt a little ping of jealousy.

For a second he thought that maybe Henry liked Ellie instead. For a second he panicked at the thought that Ellie, who was cool, witty, and pretty, would end up with Henry, the silent, strong, clever man he was definitely in love with.

He pushed down all of his anxiety and fear and decided to confront them at their weekly stay-in movie night.

That would be the perfect chance.

* * *

The first time Ellie knew something was wrong with her was when Charles agreed to her off-handed request to go somewhere fun instead of staying inside. 

She thought it was a little joke idea - that is, going to a very public place with a wanted criminal, a government helicopter pilot, and, more importantly, a person who was supposed to be dead.

Charles, though, immediately agreed. He said that he’d never been on a roller coaster before and told her a story about how his father got motion sick easily and so their family never went. 

She told him all about the dumb, cliché things they could do to make up for it. He got so excited at the thought of him having a picture of the three of them screaming on a coaster that he could put up on their fridge. 

He waved his hands wildly and grinned when he thought about all the things they could do together.

In the midst of all of that, Ellie couldn’t stop blushing. Charles was always so excited for everything. He talked about his ‘greatest plans’, his family, his favorite things, everything he could think of.

He couldn’t _stop_ talking.

And Ellie loved him for that.

He brought her favorite snacks late at night when she remembered grieving Henry for months. He would sit down next to her and talk for hours at a time, just to cheer her up. 

But when the three of them have cook-offs in their spacious kitchen, with Henry as her competition, she noticed that Henry liked to show off by flipping his pans way too high or cracking eggs with one hand, both of which led to messes.

She’d stop in the middle of her cooking just to help him clean up. 

“Here let me.” she said, reaching for the paper towels.

She handed him a couple sheets, which he quickly signed ‘thank you’ and used to hurriedly cleaned the dirty wood floor so that they could get back to the competition.

His goofy smile when they were both on the floor picking up egg shells and wiping off spilled yolks and batter made her heart race. Ellie laughed when Henry stepped his bare foot on an egg shell and made a series of silly faces to convey his pain. 

But Charles’ even goofier smile when he couldn’t decide whose (slightly burnt) dish was better made her realize something.

She was in love with both of them.

Ellie loved the way Charles was always smiling at her, always with another idea to try or joke to crack. 

She loved the way he thought about her at tiny gift shops, rushing up to show her something she, admittedly, did like. He was just thoughtful like that.

But Ellie also loved the way Henry was reckless in everything he did, whether that be grocery shopping or pranking the general. 

She loved the way he was kind to her, giving her patience whenever she needed a moment to think or putting up with her growing collection of soft blankets that they definitely didn’t need. He was just kind like that.

Her restlessness at the thought of confronting the two of them about this problem would be solved soon, as they had a weekly movie night to enjoy.

Surely things would be straightened out then.

* * *

The first time Henry noticed that something was wrong with him was when he had given a gift to Charles. It was just a few small things at first - a pretty rock he found by the beach or a new sticker for his headphones. 

But Charles, even though he didn’t have to, kept everything proudly displayed in his bedroom. On his dresser, taped up on his wall, even the little stuffed animal he was gifted was something Henry knew he slept with every night.

The reason he knew that was because Henry had bad nightmares sometimes. Travelling through multiple universes every time a decision had to be made, sometimes with his own death being foreseen, did that to a person.

Henry knocked on Charles' thin wooden door, opening it just a crack. 

“Wha- Henry?” Charles groaned, sitting up and turning on his bedside lamp. “Is everything alright?”

Henry shook his head. No, everything was not alright. A nightmare about Charles being the one to die in the explosion that almost killed even him was what led to that answer.

“Well don’t just stand there, come on in.” Charles moved over to one side of the bed, making room for Henry to sit down.

“Couldn’t sleep?” Charles asked, after a long pause in which he had wrapped Henry up in his blanket.

“Nightmare.” Henry whispered, curling into the blanket further. “About you.”

Charles looked panicked for a split second. “Did I do something wrong?”

‘No.’ Henry signed. ‘You never do anything wrong.’

“Well… I wouldn’t say that.” Charles sighed. “So what _did_ happen?”

‘The explosion.’ Henry’s next breath was so unstable that it hurt, even as Charles leaned into him for comfort. ‘You died.’

“Oh.” Charles softly said. “I-”

‘You died and it was my fault.’

“Woah wait, you know that isn’t true.” Charles turned to face him. “Even if it was a nightmare I’m sure you did all you could to save me.”

Henry began to cry and he couldn’t stop. He had seen what would have happened had he been the one shoved in the escape pod. He’d seen Charles’ grave, his favorite red headphones placed on top like a shrine.

He’d cried these tears already, in another world where Henry and Charles would never meet again.

Charles didn’t have anything more to say, so he just slid into the blanket with him and held his hands until Henry stopped crying. Even after the surge of emotions had passed he didn’t want to leave Charles’ side. 

Charles let him sleep in his bed that night. 

Henry knew he was in love with Charles already. Months of being in hiding, of trying to find ways to tell him that he was alive, and of finally finding the letters Charles had hand-written for him. He read those in his apartment, crying and laughing several times at each one.

But when Ellie, the bold thief that shared his issue of never having enough money, came into his life again, he was having trouble with the same feelings.

She was brash, reckless, and always had a plan to work with, just like him. She played video games and could beat him into the ground if she wanted, but preferred to work with him instead. She kept up with his ludicrous plans and overconfidence with such skill that it was impressive.

She swore a lot when she got angry, but also loved to crack jokes all the time and cause mischief with him.

She even learned sign language just for him. He hadn’t realized she had the time to do that, considering she’d already learned it by the time he’d come back.

But then he realized that she’d been learning when everyone else thought he was dead. She was teaching herself how to sign for a guy everyone was telling her was gone.

Charles wasn’t the only one who held onto the hope that he would come back.

It was then that he realized he was in love with her.

He was in love with Ellie _and_ Charles.

Henry was never good with emotions or words in general, but if he was going to confront them about these strange thoughts and feelings he was having, then he’d do it this Saturday, at their weekly stay-in movie night.

Not exactly his definition of romantic, but it would have to do.

* * *

The three of them agreed on a lot of things. Video games, which take-out they were going to eat that night because none of them could cook, which radio station in Charles’s car had the best music, nearly everything.

Everything except movies, that is.

“Deadpool.” Ellie said, the second they had sat down on the couch. “Enough messing around with rom-coms.”

“Hey, I like rom-coms!” Charles shuffled through the DVD’s. “How about Die Hard?”

“With Bruce Willis?” Ellie scoffed playfully. “We’re not watching a Christmas movie.”

‘That’s a Christmas movie?’ Henry signed to Ellie, seeing as Charles had his back turned.

“Technically.” She smiled. “If anything, we’re watching The Matrix.”

“I’ve seen all of them already.” Charles complained. 

“You have?” Ellie raised an eyebrow, though she knew he couldn’t see it.

“I liked his coat.”

‘How about we just watch Buzzfeed Unsolved?’ Henry signed, once Charles had plopped back on the couch next to him.

“That’s not a movie.” Ellie laughed playfully. “But it’s better than nothing at all.”

A while ago they managed to configure their T.V, which was actually connected to a laptop and didn’t have cable to begin with, to watch YouTube videos. Ellie was the one who did that, which Charles and Henry had no idea how she figured it all out, but they all enjoyed it nonetheless.

A few episodes passed of Ellie laughing at the stories of ghosts, Henry signing aggressively at the camera whenever a strange noise was heard, and Charles, who was absolutely terrified of the supernatural, cowering behind the two of them.

When the last episode of the season wrapped up, Charles stood up and shut off the T.V himself. He stood in front of the two of them, feeling so much nervousness that it shook his legs.

“I...have something to tell you guys.” He said, hands shaking. “I- I think I’m in love...with both of you.”

Getting blank stares he continued, spewing out words he never thought he’d have the guts to say.

“And I- I know that sounds dumb.” he held his head in his hands and closed his eyes, willing the feelings to go away. “Like- like I know it’s not normal to like two people at once, but it’s true! Ellie you’re so brave and smart and cool and I really love you. A- And Henry you’re so bold and reckless, but also really kind and I love you too.”

He took a deep breath. “And I didn’t want to ruin our friendship like this but I’ve been feeling this way for a while now and I just- just had to get it out.”

He wasn’t sure what to expect, least of all from the most unpredictable people he knew, but what he wasn’t expecting to happen was for both of them to immediately stand up and hug him.

“Charles..” Ellie was the first to talk. “I’ve also been feeling like that. You’re always so happy to see me and you make me laugh all the time. But Henry, you’re so kind that it hurts to think about. You’re always thinking of me and Charles, even if it’s just small things.”

“So...so I think I love you. Both of you.” She looked at Henry expectantly waiting for his answer.

Henry looked between both of them for a few seconds, fiddling with his hands nervously. “Love…” he whispered. “Love you both too.”

Charles smiled so wide that it hurt. “Oh thank goodness.” he sighed. “I was so worried that you guys would hate me.”

‘Would never hate you.’ Henry signed quickly.

At the exact time, Ellie said “We could never hate you.”

They looked at each other with wide eyes. Henry burst into a small laughing fit, his tiny voice being the only sound in the room. 

Charles blushed at the sound of his best friend, now maybe-boyfriend laughing for the first time. At the same time, Ellie blushed even harder. Neither of them had heard Henry’s laugh before and they would agree, if asked, that it was the most beautiful sound they’d ever heard.

At that moment, the three of them realized they were perfect for each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's the end! Thank you to everyone who commented and convinced me to make this more than one chapter! If you liked it feel free to leave a comment! Even just a ♥ as an extra kudos is great!


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